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Cyberneuroethics • 175
not to become a dystopia of programmed, meaningless and robotic happi-
ness. Being able to suffer with others is maybe what makes human beings
most interesting!
As already noted, these are not necessarily new philosophical questions. The
idea of having a material, physical body and disembodied thoughts is a con-
cept much loved by dualist philosophers such as the seventeenth-century
philosopher Descartes, but criticised by many since.342
Finding Meaningful Virtual Existence
A meaningful existence in a posthuman cyberspace future may be considered
as natural and even necessary if it is accepted that evolutionary selection will
favour artificial intelligence over human intelligence and if the spread of
computational technology is declared inexorable. As the religious commenta-
tor Hava Tirosh-Samuelson emphasised, the ‘saviour’ of this new ‘religious
order’ is clearly technology. However, this is rooted in the belief that human
beings will benefit because computers will solve ‘human problems, and when
human beings upload their minds into machines, they will not only live
longer, happier lives, but they will also attain immortality, the very end that
traditional religions promised their adherents’.343
In theory, virtual worlds and spaces will then create the context within
which to outwork this kind of posthuman life, ultimately evolving into the
first real afterlife. In a way, aside from the simple fact that they are fun,
video games already espouse the transcendent benefits that posthuman-
ism promotes. Whilst, for many, these virtual spaces may just be games,
for some, they are of crucial importance and value, helping to provide a
template for the future. As Geraci indicates: ‘Every player who acclimates
to operating within virtual worlds, controlling a character that is simultane-
ously both identical to and distinct from herself, moves a tiny step toward
a future in which mind uploading looks both more reasonable and more
plausible.’344
In a survey of players of the virtual reality EverQuest game, it was reported
in 2007 that 22 per cent would choose to live in its fictional world if this
was possible,345 with the American sociologist William Bainbridge noting:
‘I would consider a continued existence for my main [World of Warcraft]
character, behaving as I would behave if I still lived, as a realistic form of
immortality.’346
Among posthumanists, it was reported in 2001 that 51 per cent would
find it appealing to upload their minds into World of Warcraft or a compa-
rable game.347 This is not to say that all who currently engage in video games
and virtual reality simulations are wholeheartedly pursuing the posthumanist
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Cyborg Mind
What Brain–Computer and Mind–Cyberspace Interfaces Mean for Cyberneuroethics
- Title
- Cyborg Mind
- Subtitle
- What Brain–Computer and Mind–Cyberspace Interfaces Mean for Cyberneuroethics
- Author
- Calum MacKellar
- Publisher
- Berghahn Books
- Date
- 2019
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-1-78920-015-7
- Size
- 15.2 x 22.9 cm
- Pages
- 264
- Keywords
- Singularity, Transhumanism, Body modification, Bioethics
- Category
- Technik
Table of contents
- Chapter 1. Why Use the Term ‘Cyberneuroethics’? 9
- Chapter 2. Popular Understanding of Neuronal Interfaces 25
- Chapter 3. Presentation of the Brain–Mind Interface 31
- Chapter 4. Neuronal Interface Systems 43
- Developments in Information Technology 44
- Developments in Understanding the Brain 45
- Developments in Neuronal Interfaces 46
- Procedures Involved in Neuronal Interfaces 47
- Output Neuronal Interface Systems: Reading the Brain and Mind 49
- Input Neuronal Interface Systems: Changing the Brain and Mind 57
- Feedback Systems of the Brain and Mind 67
- Ethical Issues Relating to the Technology of Neuronal Interfaces 84
- Chapter 5. Cyberneuroethics 99
- Chapter 6. Neuronal Interfaces and Policy 217
- New Cybercrimes 218
- Policy Concerns 223
- Conclusion 229
- Human Autonomy 232
- Resistance to Such a Development 234
- Risks of Neuronal Interfaces 234
- Appendix. Scottish Council on Human Bioethics Recommendations on
- Cyberneuroethics 239
- Glossary 244
- Index 251